Women Rock Starlet Challenge Recap

The Women Rock Starlet Challenge was a 2.5K on Friday evening and a 10K and 5K on Saturday morning. And the best part was that you got a finishers medal for each race and another for the challenge, that is four medals in all!

All the BEAUTIFUL Starlet Challenge Medals

When I signed up, I wasn’t counting on getting tendonitis and having to keeping my mileage low. As the challenge approached, I planned on only particpating in the 2.5K and 10K. Running over 10 miles in 24 hours wasn’t really in the plan since I haven’t run over 4 miles in one day. However, as the week went on and got closer to the races I started to wonder if completing the challenge was a possibility because my mileage felt great that week.

On Friday as I was getting ready to head to the 2.5K my race bib fell on the floor and next think I know I heard ripping paper. I looked down and saw Baylee had part of my bib in her mouth. I was very worried because the bibs were the kind with the chip on the back, after careful inspection she didn’t do any damage to the chip so I was good. I tape the bib up and it was good as new!

My patched up bib!

It was a great evening for a race! Justin and Baylee came with me to cheer me on. After getting them situated close to the finish line, I head to the super long port-a-potty line and then to the start line. Going in to the challenge, I knew I would be running the 2.5K and 10K at training pace and not race pace. Due to that, when I lined up for the 2.5K I made sure to line up closer to the back so I wouldn’t be temped to run too fast. Then we were off! I was about a third of the way through the race when I got stopped at an intersection so they could allow the city buses through. I wan’t all that impressed but I paused my Garmin 920 and restarted when I could go again.

I knew that I would have to pass Justin and Baylee twice as the last little bit of the race looped back around past them. So as I approached them, I made sure to move as far over to the other side of the road as possible because if Baylee was to see me she would she would throw a fit that she couldn’t run with me. Justin let me know after the race that she didn’t see me but she knew I had passed because she stood up and put her nose in the air and started sniffing.

I had less that .20 of a mile left at that point and had a lot left in the tank so I picked it up a little to pick a few people off. I ended up finishing the race in 19:43. I had planned on running a 14:24 minute mile but actually ran a 12:42 minute mile, a lot faster than planned for. I collected my medal and then when to check out what post race food. I didn’t know what to expect since it was such a short race, but it was nice to see that they had a full race spread-chips, Salted Nut Rolls, bananas, and LARABAR‘s.

After the 2.5K!

After that we headed to the car because I wanted to get home as early as possible so I could get to bed for the next day. When I got home I laid out all of my stuff for the next day and then it was off to bed!

On Saturday morning I got up, got ready, and was out the door by 7am. I wanted to make sure that I got to the race early enough to park in the ramp closest to the race start. The 10K started at 8:15am, so I was there early enough to get a parking spot, used the bathroom, and checked my bag.

Again, I lined up toward the back because I knew that I would be temped to run faster than I had planned like I had on Friday night. When the gun went off I was ready to take the Women Rock course on! I had run the half marathon the year prior and it owned me.

I kept a close eye on my GPS and soon knew that 14:24 per mile wasn’t going to happen. I re-evaluated my game plan and determined that I would be comfortable with a 13:45 per mile pace for the 10K.

All of the races are out and backs so I was shocked when I hit the turn around point, it felt like I had just started. The thing about the course is that it is down hill on the way out which means it is up hill on the way back. The year before I ended up walking all of the hills and I was far more prepared than I was this year. However, this year I owned those hills, the course for that matter!

I finished the “race” in 1:25:40 and managed to keep my pace at 13:48 per mile. After I got my medal, I dawned on me that I felt really good, like I could run another 10K. Right then and there, I decided that I would do the 5K to complete the Starlet Challenge!

My 10K Medal!

I had 20 minutes between races so I tried to find a close port-a-potty but they were way at the other end to the event area so I decided to skip that. Instead, I did a quick Periscope to update everyone on my game time decision to run the 5K.

As I lined up for the 5K I started to think through my approach to the “race”. I made the decision that if my foot started to bother me I would immediately pull myself from the race. With that, I also decided that I would take it as slow as possible and walk if needed. Just like the 10K, I was at the turn around point before I even realized it. And then I was at the finish line! I really don’t know how the time flew by but it did!

I got two more medals to total four! Initially, I did signed up for the bling but in the end the challenge was so much more for me. I had questioned if I would be ready for the TC10 that I will be participating in, in four weeks. This challenge helped me to realized that I was more than ready! It was a great feeling.

After completing the Starlet Challenge!

If Women Rock have the Starlet Challenge again next year I plan on doing it again! It was a great time and of course all the bling didn’t hurt either!

Hello! My name is Missy, and I am the blogger behind Getting Fit to Find Myself. I live in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) with my fiancé, Justin, and my dog, Baylee. This blog came out of a want, I wanted a place to talk about how my fitness and weight loss journeys have helped shape who I am today. Read More…